My Introduction to the Group

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

My name is but you can call me Donnie, all my friends

do. I am nearing 46 years of age and I live in Missouri. I am new to

the group so here is some information so you can get to know me a

little bit.

I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. I didn't start

walking until I was about 3 years old but the doctors did not know

what, if anything, was wrong so they told my mom and dad that I was

just a lazy baby. I had the title of lazy until 1973 when after

having problems in school I ended up seeing doctors again. After many tests the

problem was found, it turned out that I have Charcot-Marie-Tooth, one of the

Muscular Dystrophies, so my title went from lazy to being one of Jerry's Kids. I

was 12 then.

I had always done poorly in school, so when I was old enough, I

dropped out. Two years later I went back to school only to give up

again a year or so later. That was in the late 70s.

In the year 2000 I started G.E.D. classes and I was able to pass my

G.E.D. test 7 months and 2 days later, I finished 2nd in my class. I

now hold half a dozen certificates in other classes I have taken.

I have always had problems because of my having CMT but because I

am the only person in my family with it no one had any idea what was

wrong. That's right, I am the only person in the family with CMT. I

have 4 sisters and 2 brothers along with countless cousins and nobody else has

had any problems like mine.

Now I do have 4 children and at least 2 of them have CMT but that's where the

CMT family connection stops, or should I say starts. It started with me. I have

been told my CMT is the result of spontaneous mutation of the genes. Sometimes

someone has to be the first and in my family it is me.

I am not sure what information will be helpful to the members but

as for writing a lot I am not up to it right now. I can say this, if

I did not have CMT I may never have ended up doing the things in life that I

have and I am sure I would not be the person I am today. I like myself now but

that was not always the case.

I have done a lot and seen a lot in my life and many of those

things would not have come about were it not for the CMT. I often

think about my years of drug use as a way to " fit in " (I stopped

using April 26, 2000)and wonder how many other 'Jerry's Kids' have

done something stupid just to fit in with someone, some clique in

school or their neighborhood. It's hard to make friends when you

can't do all of the things normal people do. I also wonder if there

is anyone else out there who has been told that spontaneous mutation

of the genes is why they have CMT.

That's it for now, take care,

Donnie